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Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Oh my that lime Jello still haunts me. Suspended in the Jello was shredded cabbage and carrots served with a big dollop of mayo. My Mom was always so proud of it.........
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Cornbread stuffing
What is your stance on "tipping"?
This subject was brought up about 2 weeks ago on whether or not to tip for alcohol. This whole tipping conundrum is a real head scratcher for me. Unless we have recieved truely horrendous service the tip is 15 to 20 percent. Sometimes more. On the whole bill. Alcohol included. Tax included. Is it really such a big deal to tip properly? I have seen people tip to the exact penny and not a penny more. Really?? I am an admitted math illiterate and even I can figure out 15 or 20 percent. If the tip is say, 6.75 I leave the $7. What is the big deal??
My husband and I always pay attention to the tip when we eat out with other people. We are the ones who "linger" when it is time to leave to make sure the waiter is tipped properly. I once slipped a waitress $10 when I "had to use the restroom" upon leaving when lunching with friends who whipped out a calculator to figure out a tip. Leaving out the drinks and the tax.
We have taught our children to tip well. They enjoy going out to eat (they eat out more than we do!) We feel they need to be responsible for the entire dinning experience. Have fun but don't stiff the waiter. After all this is fun and entertainment for us the diners, but income and a living for those who serve our meals. And by the way, I have never waited tables and my husband did banquets at a hotel during college and his tips were already on the bill.
Really people, why is this such an issue?
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Cook and Tell: Aunt Mary's Carrots
Posted by finsbigfan, August 24, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Making Indian Butter Chicken....what goes with it?
Posted by finsbigfan, May 18, 2009 at 11:25 AM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Pet Peeve: it's "ballotine," not "balantine".
I'll just sit here sipping my EXPRESSO and wondering what to do with that container of MARSCAPONE.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
Oh my that lime Jello still haunts me. Suspended in the Jello was shredded cabbage and carrots served with a big dollop of mayo. My Mom was always so proud of it.........
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Cornbread stuffing
What is your stance on "tipping"?
This subject was brought up about 2 weeks ago on whether or not to tip for alcohol. This whole tipping conundrum is a real head scratcher for me. Unless we have recieved truely horrendous service the tip is 15 to 20 percent. Sometimes more. On the whole bill. Alcohol included. Tax included. Is it really such a big deal to tip properly? I have seen people tip to the exact penny and not a penny more. Really?? I am an admitted math illiterate and even I can figure out 15 or 20 percent. If the tip is say, 6.75 I leave the $7. What is the big deal??
My husband and I always pay attention to the tip when we eat out with other people. We are the ones who "linger" when it is time to leave to make sure the waiter is tipped properly. I once slipped a waitress $10 when I "had to use the restroom" upon leaving when lunching with friends who whipped out a calculator to figure out a tip. Leaving out the drinks and the tax.
We have taught our children to tip well. They enjoy going out to eat (they eat out more than we do!) We feel they need to be responsible for the entire dinning experience. Have fun but don't stiff the waiter. After all this is fun and entertainment for us the diners, but income and a living for those who serve our meals. And by the way, I have never waited tables and my husband did banquets at a hotel during college and his tips were already on the bill.
Really people, why is this such an issue?
Pretty Sneaky, Sis
Bunch of buzz kills y'all are!! From the book signing to the rip on the recipe. Lighten the hell up.
Essential oils vs. Dry Spices...
They are getting crafty on us.
'Koodie': Another Term to Describe the Children of Smug, Self-Satisfied, Food-Obsessed Parents
The evil devil child will eat your "koodies" and make bread from their bones.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
Depending on the pizza I will add hot sauce, parm and/or olive oil.
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Cornbread stuffing.
Death of a Cuisinart?
Try grinding saltine crackers or stale bread in it. This has worked for me after grinding cloves in my spice grinder.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Cornbread stuffing. 'nuf said.
HELP! Butter free stuffing?
Can you make her a seperate stuffing? Don't know how many you are having for dinner, but some seperate things for her to eat will make her happy and every one else can eat regular stuffing.
What to do with roasted Garlic?
I have made a baba ganoush with roasted eggplant and roasted garlic. Add a little olive oil and salt. Good to go. Also a hot onion dip with 1 diced med. onion, 1 package softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayo, 1 bulb roasted garlic, 1 cup grated pecorino (you can add whatever cheese floats your boat), salt, pepper. Bake 350 for 35-40 min. Yum.
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Those brussels sprouts and bacon are looking mighty good.
10lbs of onions in a two person house! What to do?
My bad...it's called Swiss onion soup. With Swiss cheese.
10lbs of onions in a two person house! What to do?
There is a really good recipe on http://steamykitchen.com for sweet onion soup. I haven't tried it yet but this post got me a thinkin'.....maybe tomarrow.
Ideas to combine russet/sweet potatoes for a good side?
Check in SE's Thankgiving section. There is a recipe for scalloped Yukon gold and sweet potato gratin. Sounds yummy.
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
I am leaning towards the buttermilk biscuits with green onion, black pepper and sea salt. I don't have a bread etched in stone yet. This is a maybe.
Where have 'comments we have know and love" gone?
@Adam Congrats!! Always remember love, fidelity and a sense of humor goes a long way in making a marriage last. (26 years and counting)
Lobster or King Crab Legs: Which do you prefer?
I have always loved the line from the end of "Trading Places"
"Why can't we have both"
If I have to make a choice it would be crab legs.
Thanksgiving Menu what is yours?
hot onion dip w/bacon and white sharp cheddar
brie w/fig preserves
a'nogornata (Italian filled pie)
tomato/avocado/feta w/fresh herb vinaigrette
hubby's turkey (my dude has it goin' on with the bird!)
cornbread sausage stuffing
whiskey glazed sweet potatoes (ala Pioneer Woman)
mashed potatoes with roasted garlic
sauteed green beans in brown butter
roasted brussels sprouts with onion and pancetta
pumpkin cheesecake with ginger whipped cream
LOTS of Cuban coffee
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Extreme Cuisine'
Things I would love to try are uni and quail egg shooter, calves brains, bottarga, black chicken, and crickets to name a few.
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey
Yukon gold and sweet potato gratin with fresh herbs looks really good.
And now the cake dilemma...c'est finalement l'ennui gateau
What about a pound cake? Dulce de leche or green tea and ginger will be basic but unexpected. Or a tricked out carrot cake (raisins, coconut, nuts, decadent cream cheese frosting). Caribbean rum cake? Bananas foster crunch cake? (both on epicurean.com). Cranberry sauce cake? Snickers bar cake?
Help me name my food blog (yes, another one!)
Eat my cuisines
Where in the world?
From apples to zahtar
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
I love the fresh and fresh tasting cranberry and orange relish. Yum.
Pet Peeve: it's "ballotine," not "balantine".
And voila! My peeve is people who pronounce it with a w in the front. And people on the weather channel who think we need to clean off our rooves in the winter.
@dmcavanagh. I don't think a peeve is a worry.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Simple mashed potatoes
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Green bean casserole, it's not really special but we only have it twice a year. I guess that's what makes it special.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
My favorite Thanksgiving side is stuffing with gravy.
Pretty Sneaky, Sis
Seriously yall, she's freaking Pioneer Woman, if people will buy KATE GOSSELIN'S BOOK, they'll buy Ree's. (And my guess is there's a lot of people who own both.)
I may not be a fan of PW, but I think this was a cute thing for her to do.
What is your stance on "tipping"?
@AZN--did you work in the industry?
What is your stance on "tipping"?
I live in NYC and tip an amount that is double the tax (always rounding up to a whole dollar amount). Coins are tacky. Service jobs are hard, physical (and often emotional) work. I get genuinely nauseated when someone tips less than 15% for average to great service. At my favorite places, I have tipped 50%.
If you frequent a particular restaurant, tip well. It's worth every penny. Remember dining out is not just about feeding your face. It's an experience.
Don't try to justify your bad decorum. If you're too cheap to tip the recommended 18% pre-tax gratuity for decent service, for the love of gastronomy just go to supermarket and buy a frozen TV dinner.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Sausage and cornbread stuffing. Yum!
Thanksgiving Menu what is yours?
There will only be four of us, and none of us are huge turkey fans. So dinner will be a little different.
A steak of some sort (or standing rib roast, whatever)
roasted fingerling potatoes
some kind of vegetable
a salad perhaps
pumpkin pie
maybe an apple pie
a bread of some type
What is your stance on "tipping"?
Thanks PDX. I was feeling beaten up for stating the facts.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Fried Turkey, stuffing and gingersnap gravy in one bite. By far my favorite holiday as it is truly THE holiday for food lovers! I can't wait!!
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Oyster stuffing. Tough part, finding enough people who aren't oyster-phobic...
What is your stance on "tipping"?
I agree, honeycrisp. I definitely judge people based on their tips. I would kick a cheapskate date to the curb, and I avoid dining out with friends whose tipping is crappy, because I am filled with anxiety when the check arrives.
Weird "Thanksgiving" foods
My boyfriends mom puts out pitted dates, stuffed with either cream cheese or peanut butter, rolled in sugar. The ones with the cream cheese are mmmm.
She also puts out the olives/pickles. So weird!
Thanksgiving Menu what is yours?
Yum to everyone, and I second the request for @dbcurrie to share some more info about the bubble salad. Sounds like a must-do!
My meal will serve 10 people on Thursday, and then we traditionally do Second Thanksgiving on Friday for all of our friends who are required to spend time with family on actual Thanksgiving Day, but for whom we want to give thanks. That's looking like a group of 14 this year. All food for Second Thanksgiving is leftover from the original meal.
Main Meal:
- Dinner rolls - Cook's Illustrated recipe, the triangle-shaped ones
- Beet salad with feta and cardamom dressing
- Turkey - AB's Good Eats version like some others, but spatchcocked or butterflied - that oven time is too precious!
- Mashed potatoes
- Sweet potatoes with orange juice and Calvados
- Thyme-roasted apples and onions - from Epicurious/Bon Appetit
- Green beans with ginger and soya
- Apple raisin stuffing
- Classic stuffing
- Corn Casserole - a bizarre mix of canned, fresh, and ground corn products that my best friend can't go without on t-giving
- Whole cranberry sauce
- Lots of extra turkey gravy - Cook's Illustrated recipe
Dessert:
- Pumpkin Pie
- French Silk Pie
- Cranberry-Walnut Cobbler
Drinks:
- Spiced cranberry punch - MAKE THIS! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Vodka-Punch-200563 If you like mulled drinks and don't mind getting rather silly, make this sometime this season. It's very strong, but the spices mask the alcohol brilliantly. It's always a huge hit.
- Sparkling juices
- Beer & wine
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
Gotta go with roasted garlic mashed potatoes. I could eat it all.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
green bean casserole, from scratch of course!
Pet Peeve: it's "ballotine," not "balantine".
Why worry about all this $#!+?
Pet Peeve: it's "ballotine," not "balantine".
"Whip cream" drives me INSANE.
What is your stance on "tipping"?
Don't you think waiters would like a guaranteed wage? The tipping system sucks. And the tips I got were then dispersed to the bartender, the host, the bussers, the dishwashers and the cooks. And those people made above minimum wage. I tipped them from my tips because it would insure prompt service when I needed it. We weren't required to tip them out where I worked, though I've heard more corporate places require it. We all took care of each other. So a bad tipper is known restaurant-wide, or even city wide because we all hung out together. I found that most people were generous, that 20% to 25% was common. I tip at least 30% because it's only a few extra dollars on top of what I was going to spend on the meal anyway. It's not a big deal. I find that commentors who get worked up about the tip system are generally trying to justify their actions. I would never date someone who calculated a tip down to the percentage before tax. It really tells me a lot about that person.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
My moms - potatoes, summer savory and crushed crackers, also includes tons of butter and a few onions - I miss stuffing since it started killing people :(
What is your stance on "tipping"?
I hate the whole tipping custom. I would much rather pay one person (the restaurant owner) enough to cover the REAL cost of my meal AND the service. Instead, I have to pay both the restaurant owner (for the food and setting) as well as the server and whoever else gets a share, over which, please note, I as customer have no control, although how much I leave in addition to the price of the meal is supposedly a response to only the server's behavior. AND, I have to do the math, which I don't enjoy. Also, I hate the idea of having to give a free job performance review at the end of a meal (I hate doing that at work, too, but that's another story; at least I have gotten paid for it).
That said, I usually tip 20% if the service is average to good, maybe a bit less if it isn't, because those in the biz didn't set the rules and it's not fair to punish them for working under stupid conditions. But I still hate the whole darn thing. We are chumps to put up with it, but I don't know how to change it.
Cook the Book: 'Simple Fresh Southern'
I love homemade warm applesauce!! That and the apple pie are my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I don't like most of the other food including the turkeY!
Thanks for the giveaway!
What is your stance on "tipping"?
i always tip 20% unless the person is outright rude. but even then, i decide that i am really lucky that i don't have to carry heavy trays, deal with rude customers or angry managers, or work for $3/hr and even if it is the waitress' or waiter's choice to be there, a few extra dollars may mean I can't buy a back of gum later or something but it sure is going to make their night. Tipping isn't a big deal. It's about being nice and throwing someone who works a difficult and demeaning job a little kindness. so, be "precise" about your math if you want to but if you don't want to tip, you shouldn't go to a restaurant.
Recent Posts
Cook and Tell: Aunt Mary's Carrots
Posted by finsbigfan, August 24, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Making Indian Butter Chicken....what goes with it?
Posted by finsbigfan, May 18, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Recent Favorites
Help me find the latest winning recipe ideas!
Posted by RawFoodie, December 23, 2008 at 1:19 AM
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I'll just sit here sipping my EXPRESSO and wondering what to do with that container of MARSCAPONE.